New England Patriots MLB Gary Guyton Makes Bank

by Richard Hill on Mar 14, 2010 2:53 PM EDT in News/General Comment 12 comments

National Football Post reports, via the Boston Globe, that Gary Guyton ranked 3rd highest in performance based compensation.

Gary Guyton took home $349,437 in performance-based pay, which ranked him third in the NFL. A quick explanation: This is a way the league rewards players in the lower salary range that have high play-time percentages. Almost always, the guys with high payouts are young players who were drafted low (or, in Guyton's case, not drafted at all) and played a lot.

Guyton stepped in to start at ILB this season after a wave of retirements. Guyton was an undrafted rookie who we picked up two season ago and he performed admirably. While he seemed to play second fiddle to Jerod Mayo later in the season, Guyton stepped up when Mayo was injured early on and led our young defense.

The method of Guyton's compensation?

The system divides a total of $109,532,000 among the 32 teams with $3,422,875 being divided by each team. The league uses a formula based on playing time percentage and a player’s salary cap. So the rookie who plays the most to the veteran who plays the least all get a check.

A check well deserved, in my opinion. He did better than anyone expected and will help out the team for years to come.

Oh- and pay the man! He is currently an Exclusive Rights Free Agent, which means that we still have control over him. However, I want the Patriots to sign him long term. While he may not become an elite starter, he has the potential to be an extremely helpful contributor to our young defense. Guyton has the speed and athleticism to be a great inside pass rusher- a job I hope we delegate to him more frequently on blitz packages.

0 recs | Comment 12 comments |

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Guyton did better than anyone expected...

…if he continues up this learning curve, I have a lot of hope for our MLB position.

by Richard Hill on Mar 14, 2010 2:54 PM EDT reply actions

I'd like to see the Pats get creative with him

He’s big enough and fast enough that he could do for us what AT used to do for the Ravens. That assumes, of course, that McKenzie is healthy enough to play well and we get the pass rush we need in the draft, but if the Pats use Guyton a little more creatively, he could be extremely dangerous.

by RSNexile on Mar 14, 2010 3:14 PM EDT up reply actions

Even in combination with Mayo

ILB rush, Guyton hits the hole first, and draws the RB block. Mayo comes through and flattens the QB. QB’s eyes get really big when they can see the guy coming in front of them.

My life has been a trivial pursuit. Trivia: where three roads meet.
The more you know, the more you know that you don't know.

by SlotMachinePlayer on Mar 14, 2010 3:21 PM EDT up reply actions

Well deserved. Guyton is a solid contributor.

My life has been a trivial pursuit. Trivia: where three roads meet.
The more you know, the more you know that you don't know.

by SlotMachinePlayer on Mar 14, 2010 3:28 PM EDT reply actions

I would have liked to see the Pats tender him a little higher.

Since the Pats gave Guyton the low “we get what we spent on you” tender, other teams don’t have to worry about giving anything up if they want to sign him. For such a solid contributor, I would have expected a little more protection.

Then again, maybe the Pats are just hoping that someone else will do their dirty work (i.e. work out a deal), and they can just match it. With no salary cap, though, I’d be wary over over-payers.

by nbradley07 on Mar 14, 2010 3:52 PM EDT reply actions